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A Columbus, Ohio summer can be downright brutal, and tends to be challenging in a variety of ways for a homeowner. We try to combat the heat, the sun, and often struggle to keep comfortable (and not break the bank doing it). You might be surprised to find out that your windows could be making your life even harder!
Windows play a critical role in the energy-efficiency and comfort levels in your home. A good window can protect you, letting light in and keeping heat out, all the while being gorgeous doing it. But a poor quality window can bleed your home of all of your conditioned air, and let in loads of gross humidity and heat. Your window installation is absolutely vital, and as certified window experts, the team at APCO wants to help you learn why.
There’s one big, important rule to know when it comes to how heat moves around: It always goes toward cooler things. When it’s hot outside, but cool in your home, heat naturally wants to travel inward. Additionally, you’ve got the sunlight to contend with, which can add heat that you appreciate come winter, but is a huge burden in the summertime.
Untreated, single pane windows, lose you a huge percentage of cool air, and unfiltered sunlight can make your HVAC system work even harder.
Solving your solar heat gain woes may seem like an arduous task, but modern technology and innovation has already taken care of it for you! New, energy-efficient windows have become the standard for new window installation and replacement, and there’s a lot to love about them.
Low-emissivity (that’s the “low-e”) window treatments provide a radiant barrier for your home. This barrier reflects radiant heat from the sun, letting all of that great natural light in, and keeping all of the bothersome heat out. These treatments come as a simple, metallic coating. It’s often installed on double and triple pane windows.
Windows that feature two or three panes as opposed to just the one are a strong, effective means of combatting heat gain in the summer, and they can even help keep the heat in during the winter! These windows feature unique construction and designs that allow for overall better comfort and efficiency.
Between each pane of glass is a fill-in of an inert gas like argon, which is a non-toxic, odorless gas that insulates exceptionally well. This means that your double or triple pane windows will literally have a barrier against heat transfer, helping out tons in the comfort department. The spacer is also vital, as generally the weakest part of a window is around the edges. Double and triple pane windows use a uniquely constructed spacer that completely stops this thermal bleed.
High quality window installations, particularly those that have been treated with a low-e coating, can save you upwards of 10 to 20 percent on your cooling costs, and they’ll help you stay cool in your home to boot (and look gorgeous doing it)!
The insulation value essentially gives you a numerical representation of your window’s ability to resist thermal transfer. You nearly always want a lower number to achieve more comfort. For example, a standard single pane window will have a rating of around 1. Add a low-emissivity coating to the window, and that number will decrease (which is what you want) by roughly thirty percent. An average untreated double pane window tends to average around 0.5, and so on.
APCO was founded over 50 years ago and has been a leading exterior contractor in the Columbus area ever since. We offer energy efficient window solutions throughout Columbus and the surrounding areas.
APCO offers energy efficient windows throughout the following cities and their surrounding areas: Bexley, Columbus, Dublin, Gahanna, Grove City, Lewis Center, Pickerington, Powell, Reynoldsburg, Upper Arlington, and Westerville.
Ready to improve the efficiency in your home? Contact the installation professionals at APCO to learn more about how you can benefit from ENERGY STAR® windows in the Columbus area.
The Architectural Products Company
The Architectural Products Company